Different Now
by sparklevampFTW
Summary: Tooth's spent her college fund on clothes and dentistry books, so her boss sends her to live with his kids Jack and Emma. Leaving her boyfriend Aster in Cali, she moves to New York. Her mission: help Jack keep a good job and get a girlfriend by his twentieth birthday. Her reward: a heavy sum to pay her NYU college fund. But it turns out to be more complicated than she thought. AU
1. Prologue

Mr. Frost sat in his large desk chair shuffling through the papers littering his work space. They exampled important charts and statistics, but couldn't hold his attention at the moment. He sighed, thinking that being at the office felt useless if he couldn't do any work.

His eyes roamed around the room, taking in the cherry wood furnishings his assistant had picked out for him. She had a good eye, he had to admit. The pieces may have been slightly more expensive than he had wanted, but she'd brightly exclaimed how well they set colors off in the room when the late light came in the window, and how the warm glow in the room would cheer him up in the last hour of his work day. She said all this with the biggest, prettiest smile, and he just couldn't say no. She looked nothing like his wife, but that bubbly assistant of his reminded him so dearly of Lily.

He sighed. It had been years, but thinking of Lily still sent a numbing sting through his chest, and turned his thoughts immediately to his children. He picked up a photo frame on his desk and walked to the window, staring out at the diminishing sun. He thought of the conversation he'd just had with his eldest child about his continuous streak of unemployment.

Once again, he sighed. He was doing a lot of that lately.

There must be something he could do to fix the situation. He truly didn't mind sending living expenses to Jack, especially with his younger daughter Emma living with him, but that boy needed to open his eyes. He needed to drop the pipe dream he had and work towards a living. And he needed to stop throwing his wife's words back in his face. _Always follow your dreams,_ she'd say. _Never be afraid to be happy._ They were choice words, of course, but his son treated them less like advice and more like a prophecy. His wife's death had hit Jack the hardest.

He stroked his thumbs over the handmade frame in his hands. The picture showed a young man on the brink of adulthood laughing with a preteen girl on his shoulders, framed in Popsicle sticks and glitter. They both had the same stiff brown hair, his sticking up and hers falling over her shoulders. Mr. Frost laughed, remembering the time Jack had tried to cut her hair and she'd called him crying about her ugly bangs, demanding that Jack be "banished forever."

He wished he could be there with them, but when he was offered the position of CEO to Overland Inc. a year ago after the retirement of Lily's father, the previous chief executive, Jack had wanted to stay in New York. Mr. Frost had worked so hard to reach this goal, and after generations of the Frost and Overland family working side by side, there was no way he could pass up the opportunity. He knew he could trust Jack with Emma; she'd be better off with him anyway since the office would take up most of his time. But before leaving, he'd made Jack promise, _promise_, that if he didn't want to continue the family business, he'd have to find a steady job before turning twenty. He'd smiled genuinely at his dad and promised, saying it'd be no problem. Jack thought following his dreams would be so easy, he'd definitely reach them in as little as two years. Foolish boy. His nineteenth birthday was only weeks away, and no progression had been made concerning his career.

Problem solving had always come easy to Mr. Frost, but usually only when regarding himself. Other people's problems didn't appear so easily for him, especially when regarding his family. He missed the days when he and Lily were a team, when a quick suggestion from her would set him right back on track. She'd made him a better dad, a better man, right from the moment he'd met her.

He gasped, eyes wide to the reddening skyline. That's it! That's how to fix Jack's problem! Of course, how could he have not seen it sooner?

Jack needed a woman.

Not just any woman, though. He needed a responsible young lady with her head on straight. Someone who could make him pull his head out of his ass and light a fire under it. Someone who could show him the real world, but still keep him as the bright eyed son he loved. All he wanted for his son was to see the way the world works, to find a niche in it, and have his feet stay firmly on the ground.

Then Mr. Frost suddenly realized something: he had no idea how to play matchmaker, let alone do it from opposite sides of the country.

And there it is again, the infamous sigh.

_Okay, _he thought._ If there's a possibility a good woman could fix Jack the way Lily always fixed me, maybe I can find his girl the same way I did. He's going to need an ally_.

Mr. Frost and Lily would never had made it through the early throes of their relationship if it hadn't been for Lily's best friend. She'd all but hid around the corner of every date, making sure everything went well. It'd turned out that Lily was just as bad at keeping a good relationship as Mr. Frost had always been, and her friend vowed to help her find the "perfect man." Mr. Frost was in no way perfect, but he'd been perfect for her, and likewise.

All Jack needed was a little push in the right direction from someone on the inside. But where to find someone like that?

Mr. Frost's musings were interrupted by a small knock on the door. He turned, eyebrows raised expectantly, to see the small figure in the doorway. His assistant was an odd thing, always lathered in bright colors and layers of brand names, all while staying in the professional dress code of the company. Today she wore a pink poncho over turquoise pants that disappeared behind dark blue, almost black boots, and a green plated scarf wrapped around her delicate neck. He smiled at the bird pin that clipped up her hair, thinking how she reminded him of an exotic bird herself, always chirping and flitting around excitedly.

Today, though, she seemed anything but exited. She stood timidly on the office threshold, her head lowered and one hand braced on the door handle, as if she were a child waiting for a scolding. She looked up through her eyelashes, tinted with her signature pink mascara, trying her best to seem innocent.

"Yes, Ms. Hy Loo?" he greeted her. "What can I do for you?"

She suddenly let go of her already drooped posture and slumped into the room, sighing. _Join the club_, he thought.

"I'm so sorry to bother you with this, Mr. Frost, but I need to talk to you about something." She straightened up, deciding on a snap decision that she didn't want to ask him this while looking pitiful. "I'd like to ask you for a raise, sir. I'm having trouble paying for college, and while I have a partial scholarship, my college fund is much too small to pay for it. As you know, I'm entering the medical field to become a dentist, but I'm afraid I won't be able to work here anymore during the school year. I want to start by next fall season, but there certainly isn't enough time to earn as much money as I need. I hate having to ask you for extra help, but I truly need it, sir. You can say no, but I would like to get this out there because it is very important to me." She said this while staring intensely into his eyes, trying as hard as she could to get her point across.

Mr. Frost watched her, his expression becoming more and more puzzled as her speech progressed. She'd been working here for about two and a half years, since June of 2010, before he'd even become CEO. As far as he was concerned, her paychecks were quite high for an assistant as young as herself. Though that may have been partly because she was very good at what she does, and partly because he liked her very much. She was a great girl.

"I was under the impression that you titled for this job to save up for college. The last few years were still not enough?" he asked, surprised.

She looked at the floor sheepishly. "Well, I'm very embarrassed to admit this, but… I was quite irresponsible with a certain portion of the money," she said, trying to use pretty words to make it sound like she hadn't spent almost half of her income on clothes and dentistry books. "Which is why it's painful for me to be asking this of you."

He chuckled. "Painful. Ah, Ms. Hy Loo, you are quite refreshing. You don't know how many people have asked me for raises and haven't thought twice about it. Unabashedly, I'd say. Painful." He laughed again, shaking his head. "Where is it you're heading to college?"

Her wide lavender eyes brightened impossibly more and a smile hinted at her lips, like it wanted to break free and she held it back due to modesty. "Oh, I'm going to NYU. I'm so excited! My boyfriend Aster is staying here, but he's planning on moving up there once he finishes college. I told him there was no point in transferring when he only has – oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump right into my personal life. You don't want to hear that." She waved her hand to dismiss the topic.

Mr. Frost, unknown to her, was suddenly intrigued. "No, tell me more. You've been with your boyfriend long?"

"Yes, two years last August." She smiled.

"Hmmm. I see… When are you planning on moving to New York?" A light bulb was flickering in his head, and his young assistant seemed to be the unexpected power source.

"I'm hoping to get situated a bit before attending, but if I don't have enough expenses, I won't be able to attend as soon as I would like. I mean, I _could_ – I know there's always the possibility of paying it off through the rest of my career – but I don't really do well with debt hanging over my head. It makes me… anxious." She looked off to the side warily. "But maybe I'll move there… Hmm, perhaps by April? Possibly May? I'd like to see what summer in New York is like." She smiled at him dreamily.

He answered with his own smile, though slightly less whimsical than hers. It was the smile of someone with a proposition on their mind.

"Would you possibly consider moving sooner?"

Her eyebrows lifted quizzically, just toughing the edges of her color streaked bangs. The tone of his voice sounded strange. "Maybe, why?"

"Ms. Hy Loo, I think I may just find that raise for you after all. And I have something to ask you. Please, sit."

* * *

**This AU is the idea of teensophie-draws (also called arcanabreak) on tumblr. I saw her art/comics, and she so kindly gave me the green light to write it. She'll be writing her own story as well, in drabbles I believe, as well as making more comics and art of the idea. I'll be basing this story off whatever she posts there, but also adding in my own stuff. ;V**

**Go see her art! It's beautiful! Link on my profile. c: And there's also a link to the playlist on my youtube and her file download for it. Idk how to make it work for iTunes, but maybe you guys do. :/**

**Reviews are better than cherry wood furnishings.**


	2. First Impressions

The car ride to Jack Frost's high end apartment isn't very long. I'd had two weeks and a five hour flight to reflect on my decision, and even now I was still unsure.

The proposition his father had given me was over the top, too much to ask, yet so convenient. Asking me to move out here—to basically babysit his son and play matchmaker—may have been kind of weird, but for double what I'd earned as an assistant in the end? Heck yeah, I'll do it. It was easy money, and added on to a steady payment throughout the whole ordeal. My new income is a significantly less amount compared to my previous pay, I'll admit, but the benefits far outweigh the costs in the end. And as it's been said, _what can I do? It pays a debt._

First, I had to get Mr. Frost's kid a job, and a girl.

God, how much of a loser could this guy be?

In the two week rush and preparation for this arrangement, Mr. Frost had forgotten to show me a picture of his son or of his daughter. With my little knowledge of him, I imagined him to look like some slacker man-child with the idea that he can be a professional snow boarder from what he learned in video games, and that maybe he'll look a little like dapper Mr. Frost under any or all acne he may or may not have. I wasn't being fair in my imaginings of him, true, but there must be something wrong with him if he can't get a girlfriend by himself. With my thorough insight into the female psyche, I figured he must simply be very ugly.

Ugh, I'm not usually so partial to narrow mindedness. It's far too early to be alive; I blame my sass all on jet lag.

I'm glad to be seeing New York, though. I'm thankful for the time I'll get to explore and enjoy the big apple before school sucks all my time up. It's beautiful, by the way. Always bustling and busy, and the snow on everything takes my breath away. It doesn't snow much in the Southern parts of Cali, and the late November blanket of snow here is refreshing. But right now, it is the bane of my existence as I make my way up the slippery steps to the modestly sized, yet incredibly fancy apartment complex.

_Don't fall don't fall don't fall._

I opt the revolving doors for the manual ones, spinning around one too many times for the sake of feeling like Eloise, and open up to a warm reception area. The mint green far wall extends both ways down adjacent hallways past a desk on the right with a small brunette working there and a sitting area on the left decorated with iron tables and flowers in crystal vases. The giant viewing windows in the sitting area cast a beautiful clear light over the entire room, making it feel cozy and friendly. The receptionist looks up, her short pixie cut bouncing with the motion.

"Oh, hello! Can I help you?" She smiled brightly, the light in her pretty green eyes matching. It's a legitimate real smile you don't see often on people in the hospitality industry, ironically. I felt myself returning it immediately.

"Yes! I'm moving in with a tenant here. Jack Frost, son of Jack Frost Sr., who pays for the rent. My name is Toothiana Hy Loo?"

She taps away on her computer for a moment, her thin brow furrowing. "Ah, yes! Miss Hy Loo. Well, welcome! Your room is on the third floor, 318, on the left corridor." She points to the hallway behind me. "Here's your key, and there are two elevators, one on the left and one on the right sides of the building, along with two stairways. It'll just be beyond that hallway. If there's anything else you need help with, just come on down, okay?"

I smile again and thank her, hitching my purse higher on my shoulder and wheeling my suitcase towards the left hallway. This apartment complex was a little strange. It felt more like a hotel, but with less people.

The long hallway led to an airy alcove with two elevators and a little fake plant sitting on the table across from them. I think they were Jasmine. Were the flowers in the reception area fake, too? Not that it mattered.

I press the button and wait patiently, looking around in boredom, and a man comes in the room. He's short and pale, with sandy blonde hair slicked back. He's wearing a goldenrod robe and circular spectacles with the morning paper under his arm, and the back of his slicked hair sticks out like a duck butt, as if he'd just woken up. He regards me over his glasses, though he's short enough that he may have to do that to everybody, and shoots me a half smile as if we shared a secret.

"Um, good morning," I say.

He waves, then gestures towards the doors. I didn't notice our elevator had arrived.

I blush and dive in, standing near the number buttons to wait for him. He settles in the corner opposite mine, looking as comfortable as if it were a plush bed turned vertical.

"What floor?"

He holds up three fingers.

"Cool, that's my floor too." I press it.

When the elevator starts moving, I am faced with that terribly cliché predicament where you're in the elevator with a stranger and three floors feels like three lifetimes of awkward. Should I start a conversation? Should he start it? What would I talk about? How do you like living here? New York's pretty nice so far, yeah I'm new here. No, I've never been here before. It's very – Oh look, my floor.

He lets me out first, sweeping his arm in a gentlemanly manner, but he passes me quickly when I hesitate in the elevator alcove. The place looked way smaller from the front. The hallway extends for yards and yards, a never ending tunnel of mint green Spackle paint and golden rug. Another corridor branches off in the middle of the hall, disappearing to the right. It probably connects to the other side of the building. There are few doors along the hall, making me believe that the apartments are very large behind them. The corridor is completely barren besides a potted plant, and somehow it just adds to the alien feeling I'm getting here.

I follow the little man without trying to look like l am following him. I'm just going the same direction, guys, come on.

Finally I come to the infamous 318, and stop a few steps before it. The small man is at the door right across next to the huge, leafy potted plant. I surmise that it must be his.

The hall is kinda wide, so he's at least seven feet from me. He looks at my door, then at me, then points between it and me, raising his pale eyebrows quizzically.

"Uh, well this is my apartment. It was nice meeting you." I offer him a smile.

He looks back at the door again and chuckles to himself, shaking his head at the same time. He gives me a look that I don't understand, then disappears into his apartment.

Okay, that was weird.

I turn back to the door and blow out a deep breath. Okay, here goes. Everybody be cool, it's just a normal day.

I knock.

And wait.

No one comes to the door.

Um.

They knew I was coming, right? I try to hear for anything through the door, but nothing. This is the right apartment, isn't it?

Then suddenly, the door swings open to reveal a small brunette girl in a hoodie. This must be Emma. She's holding a DS and looking at me like I'm not worth her time.

She puts a hand on her hip and raises an eyebrow at me. Okay then, time to try my best tactic: being nice.

I bend down to her level. "Hi, there! Is Jack here? Your father sent me to—"

"Not to be rude, miss," she says, cutting me off. "But if you're one of those women who are paid to get it with Jack… we don't welcome trollops."

And… I am completely shocked. That was unexpected.

"But—I—" I sputter, searching for the words this sassy ten year old has sucked out of me, when a giant crash can be heard from somewhere in the apartment.

"Don't sass the visitors, Emma!" a guy yells. Then a thud reverberates through the wood floor inside. "Crud, ow! Almost there! Oops!"

"Uhhhh," I say hesitantly. I should have added _clumsy_ to my imaginary Jack repertoire.

Then he enters the doorway, and Emma freezes. I freeze.

Because he's just gotten out of the shower.

And he's standing there.

A towel over his shoulder.

Completely naked.

And I'm still bent forward.

And I'm face first with his…

_Oh God. This is not happening._

And just for the record, Jack Frost is not ugly. That can be swiped off the list of possible reasons why he can't get a girlfriend. Now I'm thinking it may be because of poor social skills. What other excuse could a person have for answering the door totally in the nude?

"Oh, hey! Your name is Toothiana, right? Uh—ahem…" he says, clearing his throat. "Are you alright? It seems you're about to explode."

_WELL I WONDER WHY._

I don't think he's noticed his nudeness, and I'm far to stunned to move. My eyes flick to Emma, who is as close to catatonic as an embarrassing event like this can get you.

He takes a step into the hall, bringing _it_ closer to me. I shoot straight up and cover my eyes, though that won't do much. The damage has already been done. He moves around me and I hear the door shut.

Emma sighs right next to me. "Jack, do you _know_ how much of an idiot you are?"

"What?"

I finally speak up. Or, really I squeak. "I'm so sorry! Please put on a towel!"

"What?" he asks again. I risk a peek and see him looking at us in confusion. His gaze switches between us, then down, then up again with wide eyes.

"Oh, crap!" He grapples for the towel on his shoulder, but it's gotten itself caught in the closed doorway. He tugs relentlessly on it with one hand while the other tries to cover and preserve what's left of his discretion. The towel won't budge out of the door, and he glances at me with a wild, flustered look

Emma sighs, rubbing her face with a hand, and turns the knob on the door. Jack is in the middle of a particularly powerful tug when she does and it sends him tumbling back with the towel. He crashes into the guy on the elevator's potted plant, knocking it off its stand. He catches it quickly before it can break, setting it gently on the stand at a certain position. I get the feeling he may have done this many times before, too. Uh, knocking over the potted plant, I mean. Not answering the door in his birthday suit. Though, what do I know?

He finally wraps the towel around his hips, the edges of it jutting out with his deep V hip bones. Oh jeez.

Jack looks up at me, the pink on his cheeks slowly fading. I can see in the clear light coming from the windows down the hall mixed with the fluorescents that his skin is snowy pale, contrasting with the chocolate brown of his slowly drying hair that's starting to stick up.

He approaches me with his right hand stuck out for a handshake. Luckily, it's the hand that had gripped the towel previously and not his crotch.

He smiles the most wonderful smile at me, flashing perfectly white teeth. "Hi, I'm Jack! Welcome to our humble abode."

Oh boy. What did I get myself into?

* * *

**Whoever can name both unnamed characters in this chapter AND the two movie references gets a preview of the next chapter once I finish (start) it.**

**Reviews are better than nakey Jack (hahaha who am _I_ kidding?).**


	3. Induction

**Sorry about the late update. I started watching Supernatural and a few episodes turned into 4 seasons and idk what even happened.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE FAVS AND REVIEWS AND LOVE AND OH MY GOSH YOU ALL ARE FANTASTIC!**

**But jeez, literally none of you could get the two movie quotes in the last chapter. You got the unmade characters, but not the quotes. That's okay though, I'm a movie buff. They were:**

**Les Miserables - "_what can I do? It pays a debt."_**

**Pitch Perfect_ - "Everybody be cool, it's just a normal day_."**

**I reference Pitch Perfect in everyday life. If a movie could be a spirit animal, it would be mine.**

**I think I'm going to put a movie reference/quote in each chapter. Try to guess the one in this one too!**

* * *

I sort of just stare at his hand for a while and try to unsee what cannot be unseen.

After a couple awkward moments with my mouth opening and closing for the words I can't find, I finally shake his hand. It's tough with callouses, but it's not so bad. It feels like my father's hands.

"Uh, thanks…" I look back at the sassiest twelve-year-old on the planet, and she is literally face palming. And it is really quiet. Jack's just standing there in a towel looking at me like I should say something, but _what do I say_ in a situation like this? Judy Blume didn't prepare me for this.

Okay. I've decided that this awkwardness needs to stop. I can't take it, its far too painful. So I don't know why I put my foot in my mouth to make it worse.

"Well that was a lovely little introduction."

And you know what that guy does? He looks down at his crotch, a horrified expression on his face. It takes me a moment to get why.

"Wait, no! I didn't mean tha—I mean it's just—not that I didn't think… I don't—!" The blush is back, and I duck my head. "Um, I'm just going to go inside now."

His eyes follow me as I shuffle into the spacious apartment. "Your room is down the hallway to the left! Across from Emma's."

Rolling my small black bag across their wooden floor makes a hollow sound. The living room is really big, about a third of their apartment I'd guess. A large, square rug the color of grass spreads out on the right side under a complete set of red angular furniture and a wide screen TV on the wall. The walls have a yellow and dull gold pattern on them, some sort of frenchy looking wallpaper, and it glows with the light shining through the windows on the left. There are two regular windows accompanied by red curtains, but strangely a stained glass window as well. I only begin to wonder about it when I notice the boxes in the corner.

"My boxes came in?" I ask, twirling around. Apparently Jack and Emma had gotten into a heated whisper while my back was turned. She was pointing her unforgiving finger at him and he honestly looked chastised. Incredible.

He looks up at me, happy to have a reprieve from his accusatory sister. "Oh, yeah! They came in a couple hours ago. The moving guys wanted to bring them up but I didn't know if the stuff was breakable or not, and those guys were kinda creepy. I started to put them in your room, but I knew you'd be here soon, and I didn't want to be sweaty when we first met, though I guess that doesn't matter now..." He scratches his ear nervously. "Anyway, I brought them in. Is that okay?"

I nod, surprised at his kind act. I wouldn't have asked him to carry them up here; that's what moving guys are _for_. But I was touched by the sentiment. "Yeah, thanks…"

I get cut off from saying anything else when something rubs against my legs.

"EEE!" I jump fifty feet in the air (not really) and drop the handle of my suit case. It clatters on the ground and scares the cat away.

"Aw, you scared her! Come here, baby, its okay." Jack crouches down to the floor, tightening his towel, and reaches under the couch while making soft clicking noises.

"Yeah, that's it, girl. You don't have to be afraid. She's a friend." He coaxes the white cat out and takes her in his arms. She's absolutely gorgeous, completely white and full grown, with a patch of gray fur around her right eye shaped like a heart. She snuggles into Jack's arms with a low purr.

"She's so cute," I say, reaching out to pet her. I hesitate, not sure if she'll freak again, but Jack nods and I rub her head between her ears. "What's her name?"

"Snowflake." He smiles at me, then lifts Snowflake up by the crook of her front legs and gives her a serious look. "Snowflake, this is Toothiana. She's going to be living with us for a while." He faces her towards me quickly then turns her back. "You have to be nice to her, okay? And she'll be nice to you. Do not, under _any circumstances_, tear up her sweaters. Do you understand, young cat-awan?" He makes her head nod with one of his fingers and smiles, cuddling her to his bare chest.

"Come on! I guess since you've completed your initiation of getting past the guard cat, I'll show you your room." He walks past me down the hall adjacent to the front door. It's really long; how big is this place, anyway?

There are two doors in the hallway, one in the left and one on the right. The left is closed, but when we pass the right one, I peek inside curiously. An unmade futon bed sits low to the ground surrounded by a controlled chaos of clothes, comics, video games, books, and... Legos? The walls have a swirling pattern painted on them, like clouds or wind, and are littered randomly with drawings and paintings. A round thing with a star on it and a mini fridge are next to the bed. Above the bed is a portrait of a huge mountain covered in snow. It's one of those rooms that you know belongs to someone else so incredibly that you could never call it your own if they left, yet you'd feel sound being in a room so loved by another person.

"Is that your room?" I ask.

"Yep!" he says, smiling back at me. "And the door on the left is the hall closet. We don't use it for much besides coats and the vacuum. Emma's gotten too smart for me to put Christmas presents in there." He winks.

The end of the hall splits into two each way. Jack turns left where the most doors are. He gestures to the one at the end of the hall, saying it's the laundry room, then to the only one on the left as Emma's room. He stops at the door across from hers.

"And this," he says, turning the knob, "is your room."

I walk in, taking in the warm, sunlit room. Three windows are situated equally against the far wall, one over the bed and on each side. The bed is made up with green sheets and a purple flowery comforter and matching pillows. A white dresser and mirrored armoire nestle against the right wall. The armoire has bulbs all around it and a red velvet cushion seat like the ones in the movies. A bookshelf keeps my boxes company on the other wall, waiting to be used, next to another door.

"Is that the closet?" I ask and walk over to it.

"No, that's your bathroom. The closet is inside, though."

My jaw drops when I push the door open. It is _huge_. The whole apartment is big as far as apartments go, but I have never had such a huge bathroom all to myself.

And I _love_ it.

"This... is mine?" I whisper.

"Of course... Why?"

"Ah! Oh my gosh! I - This is my bathroom! AHH!" I run to the faucet and turn it on and off, then into the closet and twirl around to look at the big space. "This is perfect!"

I walk out and look at myself in the wall mirror above the sink, then over to the toilet in its own closed off area.

"Look! It has its own little room! How cute!"

"You've seriously never had your own bathroom?" Jack asks, surprised.

I'm about to say of course I haven't, when I remember that Jack has lived in a wealthy family all his life. He doesn't know what it's like to share two small bathrooms in a family of four.

I smile at him. "No. Its not that my family's poor or anything, but we don't have a whole lot of money. Mostly everything I own I've earned myself."

His eyes are wide. I guess he doesn't know what that's like either. I don't know what to think of that.

I sigh and look around the bathroom again. It's painted in shades of pearl and sky blue with a porcelain jet tub to boot. I will definitely be using that soon.

"Well, I want to start unpacking," I say, letting him take a hint so I can have a moment to myself.

"Oh... right! Yeah. I'll bring the rest of the boxes in for you." He smiles again. He seems like a very happy person.

I'm about to say he doesn't have to do that, I'll get them myself, but I enjoy his kindness. "Thanks," I say and follow him out the bathroom door. Before he can leave the room, I call to him again. "Jack?"

"Mmhmm?" He turns back to me, petting his cat. Her purring is the loudest thing in the room.

"Before you bring the rest of my boxes, could you put your clothes on please?"

He looks back down at his toweled self, once again forgetting his state of undress. "Oh. Oh! Yeah, yeah... Sorry. About earlier, again. Uh, sorry. Okay... Bye." He shuffles back down the hallway and I laugh.

I turn to my boxes, then to my shelves and drawers, and sigh. I have a _lot_ of unpacking to do.

I start on my books. It's the two heaviest boxes closest to the book shelf, luckily. I start towards the door to go find some scissors when I notice a pair already laying on one of the boxes.

I pick them up and examine the little snowflakes printed on them. Jack must have brought them in. How unexpectedly thoughtful.

I cut open the tape and start stacking. Most people place their books by author, or randomly, or favorite to least favorite. I stack mine by color. The top is red, then pink, orange, and all the way down to black and white at the bottom. It's difficult to place the colors correctly so that they blend into the next color, but I've had the Toothie Decimal System down since ninth grade, and I packed them in order so it'd be easier when I got here. Since all I have to do is stack and not organize them, my mind starts to wander.

It wanders to Jack. He is not what I expected. Mr. Frost is a great man, so I never expected his son to be a spoiled trust fund baby, but I didn't expect him to be... I'm not sure what to call it. I would call it effervescence, but that didn't seem right. He seems more... free spirited. And blunt. And clueless. But also kind and thoughtful and wide eyed. I have no idea what to think about the son of Overland Incorporated's CEO.

I'm working on the blues when I see a figure standing in the doorway.

I jevitate (jump levitate) off the floor before I realize its Emma. She's leaning on the door jam with her arms crossed, still in sass mode.

We stare at each other for a second, and I realize how incredibly alike they both look to Mr. Frost.

Her mouth unpuckers to speak to me. "Jack was really excited when Dad told us you'd be moving in. I don't know why, since you seem rather unremarkable."

Well then.

I clutch the book in my hand tighter and don't reply to her, so she just keeps speaking. "I think it's weird that he sent his receptionist or assistant or whatever instead of just yelling at him to get a job like I do. But that never works, so..." Her lips pucker again and she shrugs. I slowly turn back to my books.

I hear her purple socked feet shuffle into my room. She stands silently next to me as I stack, rubbing her feet back and forth. I figure out what she's doing too late when she touches my hand and shocks me. I jump again.

"Ow!" I rub my hand. "Dude that hurt."

"You're kinda jumpy. Like a bird. Are you nervous?"

I look at her, sure that she's making fun of me, but her expression is serious. "No, just tired, but I want my books up before I take a nap." I run my fingers over the middle shelf. "It won't feel like my room until my books are up."

I look back at her to make sure she won't call me a nerd or anything, but she's not looking at me. She's looking at my green section. She points to one at the beginning, one of the shortest and smallest of all my books. It sits between two thick dentistry books, dwarfed by them and barely noticeable.

"I like this book."

I lift my eyebrows at her. "You've read it? Isn't it kind of grown up for you?"

"Nah, I can handle it."

"Okay... Who's your favorite character?"

She thinks for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe Charlie, but the gay brother is really funny." She looks back at me. "I like the ending. I asked Jack if we could do the same thing in the Lincoln tunnel, but he said no. Douche bag."

I jerk and my eyes go wide. "Uh, are you allowed to say that word?" Saying curse words, reading books with rape and drugs in it, knowing what gay is. This kid is really surprising me.

"What Jack doesn't know won't hurt him, and I know you won't tell him." She's right, and that makes me uneasy. She points to the light blue book in my hand. "That's one of my favorites too."

"Oh, mine too." I pull the book against my chest and grin. "The guy is just perfect. I hate when everything starts getting sad, though. It's like, the author makes you think in the beginning that the girl's going to die, but it ends up being him. It's terrible."

"Yeah, well we all go eventually." She shrugs as if saying _death is so whatever_. "I guess we're all just waiting for our inevitable end."

I give her a peculiar look. "You're kind of jaded for a twelve year old, you know that?"

She squares her shoulders and squints her eyes at me. "You're kind of serious for someone with colors in their hair."

"What? What does that...? I am the perfect amount of serious a girl my age should be."

"Then I guess we don't know much about each other. Why are your eyelashes pink?"

"Why are your bangs so choppy?"

Her eyes narrow further and her mouth closes so tight I can't see her lips. She stares me down too long for comfort, and I start to back away when a slow smile spreads on her face.

"Fine. I like you. Don't mess it up." She twirls away to retreat to the hallway, then disappears into her bedroom.

I blow out a breath, happy to have gotten past the guard cat _and_ guard little sister.

I put the book I'm holding away just as Jack walks in. He glances at Emma's door then back to me with a raised eyebrow. "Did she say something to you?" he asks while putting the boxes in his arms down next to others.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, did she say something rude to you?" He stands straight and gives me a pleading look. "If so, I'm sorry, she doesn't take too kindly to new people." He runs a hand through his pointy brown hair, making it flop back in his face, and takes a deep breath. The movement of his chest makes me notice his black T-shirt and dark blue sweats that bunch at his feet. The dark fabric accentuates his light skin and hugs his toned form admirably. Attractive men are usually described as the clichéd "tall, dark, and handsome," but something tells me that Jack wouldn't be able to pull that off. He looks good the way he does. I don't know him very well, but I think this comfort-at-home look expressed him the most.

"No, of course not! She's small, and a little intimidating," I laugh, tucking a yellow lock behind my ear, "but she didn't say anything to hurt my feelings. I think we're cool." I smile at him.

He puffs his cheeks and blows out a breath. "Good! That was what freaked me out the most. She's my little sister, but she can be scary sometimes." He walks over to my bed and sits on the edge, facing me. "So, do you like your room? I already know you like the bathroom." He chuckles. "But I didn't know what to get for the bed. Is this okay?" He pats the purple comforter.

"Oh, yes! It's wonderful! And the bedding is perfect, thank you." I abandon my books just as I reach the blacks and sit next to him.

This close to him, I finally notice his eyes. They're a strange blue; unlike a natural eye color and look slightly a hue off. He notices me staring. "What?"

I ask the stupid question I despise and get all the time. "Are you wearing colored contacts?"

"Uh, yeah." He fake coughs into his fist. I know it's fake because his eyes shift around the room as if looking for a lie.

"What for?"

"I just like the color blue. Are _you_ wearing colored contacts?"

"No, this is my natural eye color. Cool, huh?" I flutter my eyelashes and smile up at him.

"Wow, cool! How did that work? Some genetic mishap or something? Awesome!" He stares in my eyes, his own wide with interest, but I can't look away from his and he takes so long to examine mine that I start to feel uncomfortable. It's that really weird, other worldly feeling you get from staring into someone else's eyes for too long.

"Um, possibly? We never really bothered to check." I look away to my bare white walls, and a thought occurs to me. "Hey, if it's just you and Emma here, what was this room used for?"

Luckily, he's done staring at my eyes and glances around the room. "It was a guest room for these two kids I babysit. They live downstairs with their mom. I guess they'll just sleep in Emma's room now, but that's okay. They usually end up in there anyway."

He chuckles and shakes his head. I can see how nice his smile is, and thus see how a-freakin-_mazing_ his teeth are. Like, just _damn_! Look at those pearly whites!

"Whoa, dude, you… You have _incredible_ teeth!" I say, lifting a hand as if to touch them, but snap it back before he sees.

He raises his eyebrows. "Really? Well, thanks! I don't think I've ever noticed." He rubs his front tooth and I am suddenly jealous of his hand. Not like you-stole-my-boyfriend-you-bitch jealous, but dang I really want to do a monthly check up on those babies.

He drops his hand and looks pensively at my bookshelf, then gets up and walks towards my boxes. He lifts the last of the books out and puts them away on the bottom shelf, then stacks the empty boxes on top of each other and stands back to survey our work with his hands on his hips. He glances at me over his shoulder and grins. "I have my books organized the same way."

I blink, surprised. I've never met anyone else who did.

He turns back to the books and his lips purse up to the side. He looks thoughtful, but serious. Jack hasn't looked serious a second since I met him.

Suddenly, he breaks the silence. "I know why my dad asked you to live with us. But I just want to tell you that it's my life, and no matter how much money he bribes you with, I'm not going to decide against what I want for myself." He faces me and drops his arms. "I'm happy to have you living with us, but don't think you can just change my life. Dad will probably give you what you want whether what he asked for happens or not, so no need to get crazy if I don't fulfill his _expectations_ of me. I love my dad, but he needs to know it is my life."

And without my knowledge or forewarning, Jack Frost has rendered me speechless. I blink incoherently at him, before I utter out a quiet, "Okay."

"…Okay? That's all? You're not going to argue with me or yell at me or whatever? I mean, I think I basically just accused you of being a money sucking charlatan, but I didn't mean to."

"No, no, that's alright! I agree! Of course I can't take away your free will. I mean, getting the money for college would be nice, and earning it would be better than getting it out of consolation, but like you said, it's your life." I nod as a final point on the topic.

"Right! Thank you! Wow, glad I got that out of the way." His serious expression drops and he looks relieved. "Thinking about having this conversation made me anxious all day, which is probably why I forgot clothes when you came to the door." He rubs his red ear, an embarrassed smile on his lips.

"It's okay, that was actually kind of funny. Traumatizing but funny." I laugh. "Thanks for putting the rest of my books up. They really light up the room."

He grins at me. "Exactly. That's why I have mine the same way."

He walks backwards towards the door. "So I'm about to start cooking. We're having breakfast for lunch. Banana pancakes, Emma's favorite. I'll just knock when they're done, 'kay?"

I nod and he slips out the door, still grinning.

I take a deep breath and flop back on my bed, arms spread wide. I grapple blindly for a pillow and pull it to my chest, curling around it. It's only before I slip off into unconsciousness that I remember I forgot to call Bunny when I landed. Oh well, I'll call him before lunch.

Jack sure is not what I expected.

* * *

**Try to guess the movie quote AND the two books Tooth and Emma talked about and I'll give you a preview of the next chapter! :D**

**Just to let you guys know, teensophie-draws was going to write this AU and call it Better Together, named after the Jack Johnson song that's in the playlist. I didn't call it that incase she writes it anyway.**

**Also I totally meant to write Jack with blue eyes. It wasn't because I accidentally drew him in the story banner with blue eyes instead of brown and was too lazy to change the picture so just decided to make it part of the story arc no definitely not. I AM A PROFESSIONAL.**

_**Playlist on my profile!**_

**REC TIME! Here are some fantabuballs stories I've read on here:**

**The Coldest and the Boldest by TectonicPlatez: If you haven't read this yet, gtfo of my story and GO READ IT.**

**Project GUARDIAN: The Rise & Fall by Her Head In the Clouds: Sweet mutha of Jesus, I love this story. Spy!Jack is so… *shudder of pleasure***

**Peppermint Winter by SilverEyeShinobi: Probs one of my fav Human!RainbowSnowcone stories. I just can't with this story, guys. I CAN'T.**

_**~Reviews are better than monthly checkups.~**_


	4. Banana Pancakes

**Thank you anon for correcting my misspell of Les Miserables. I'm sorry I'm not French. And I'm sorry my Microsoft Word isn't French either. And I'm sorry the last chapter was meh for you. Your life must be so exciting that even the day you move into a new apartment is filled with events of epic proportions. How exciting!**

**If you're having trouble imagining Jack's apartment or just want to see how I imagine it, I made a floor plan! Link on my profile, or just mess around with this awkward web address: floorplanner (dot it) com / projects / 26071257-jf-apartment / edit # assets  
**

**Congrats to who got all the references last chapter! Here are the answers:**

**Easy A**** – **_**"Judy Blume didn't prepare me for this."**_

**The books: ****The Perks of Being a Wallflower**** and ****The Fault in our Stars**

**There's a movie quote, mention of a specific movie, and two extra characters in this one. GUESS.**

* * *

A weird whirring sound wakes me up. I'm still clutching the pillow and curled up in a ball in the middle of my bed, and I'm just so comfy that I don't want to greet the whirring thing.

I use the Jaws of Life to wrench back my eyelids. A pair of big blue-green eyes blink back at me.

I stare at Snowflake for a moment, still in a state of sleepy confusion, then reach out and pet her. She purrs, rubbing her head against my hand, and snuggles up next to me.

With her soft, warm body next to mine, I'm so close to slipping back to sleep, but voices are rising in the hall. Curious, I roll over, making Snowflake meow in protest with the loss of her cuddle buddy. Jack is leaning into Emma's doorway.

"No, I did not–! Just because – don't pin it on me, it wasn't me! And don't say that word, young lady! Lunch in five!" He slams her door. He turns around with a strange expression on his face; it's somewhere between angry and embarrassed.

When he sees me watching, he stops. I sit up and adjust my hair and clip, hoping I don't have bed head, and he smiles. It's amazing how quickly he changed moods. I smile back, mostly because of his ridiculous pink apron that's covered in printed kiss marks.

"Hey! Lunch will be ready soon. I'm glad you and Snowflake are getting along." He nods to the cat that slinks around my side into my lap, demanding attention.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard not to love her. She's adorable." I look at the digital clock on my bedside table and am surprised at how long I slept. Almost more than an hour! I decide against waiting until after lunch to call Aster. He must be worrying his head off. "I'll be out soon, kay? I just have to make a call. And thanks, for making lunch I mean." I give him a small smile in appreciation. The thank you isn't really just for the lunch though. It's only my first day in this apartment and he hasn't done anything at all to make me feel out of place. In fact, he treats me like we're already friends.

"Sure! I'm just finishing up the pancakes now."

"Okay."

He disappears from my doorway. I pet Snowflake for a little longer, then set her gingerly on the bed. I pull my phone out from my suitcase that I deposited next to the bookcase earlier. I feel really bad that I didn't call Aster when I first got here, and even worse that I forgot because I wanted my books on the shelves as soon as possible. Oh well. At least the wide, empty space of the large bookshelf was full now. It didn't feel like my room until that was done.

I punch in the number four on speed dial and listen through the dial tone for his answer. I run my hand along the middle shelf, picking up wood grain on the way while waiting for him.

A thick Australian accent greets me at the other end of the line. "Hi, Sweetness. How was your flight?"

I smile brightly, my heart warming at his pet name. "Good. Nothing like racing towards the sun on a four hour flight to rattle the bones. I got here a while ago, but I fell asleep. Sorry I didn't call you sooner."

"It's alright, Toothy. So... You're settled in already?"

"Oh, yeah! This apartment is amazing, Bunny!" I squeal, using his nick name I came up with. "It's freakin huge, and I haven't even been in every room yet! And I have my own _bathroom_! And the closet is _inside the bathroom, _and it is ginormous! The whole apartment is so simply designed, but fits together well. Whoever decorated it knew what they were doing, too. Mr. Frost must have hired a personal decorator. Everything goes together perfectly, all the furniture pieces and contrasting colors, oh, and the stained glass window is to _die_ for–"

"Tooth, Tooth! Slow it down!" he laughs. "It sounds nice. And how are your... roommates?" He sounds a little hesitant on the word roommates, though I'm not exactly sure why.

Up until then I was walking around the room, so I sit down on the bed where Snowflake is curled up. "They're great, Bunny. Jack is so welcoming, though he's really not what I expected. I didn't know what I expected, really, but he's just lovely. Honestly, it's as if I'm an old friend to him."

"Okay, well just be careful around him."

I idly pet Snowflake while talking to him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that... I mean... This is just a really weird situation, ya know? It almost seems kind of... shady to me."

"I suppose it is a little strange, but it's not unreasonable." I furrow my brows, suspicious. Did he...?

"I just don't get it, Sweetness! This guy hasn't held a job for longer than six months in his entire life! His dad has basically paid for everything he's ever owned and left him with a younger child to care for. Who even does that?!"

I gasp. "Bunny! You did not! Did you background check Jack?!"

"I was worried!" he says quickly. "You knew nothing about this guy, so how was I – _you_ s'posed to know what he's capable of when the most work he's ever done in life is pick up a silver spoon?"

"Just because you are a cop's kid and have the resources to check someone doesn't mean that you _can_! That is an invasion of privacy!"

"I'm sorry, Tooth. I just didn't want you getting the short end of the stick if this Jack Frost bloke turned out to be a total wanker."

"You're not sorry about checking Jack, you're just sorry you made me mad."

"True. But I wanted to make sure you were safe. Because I love you."

I huff, trying to stay mad at him. It's hard when he says stuff like that. I sigh. "Yeah, I know. But really, he's a good guy. From what I've seen, he's very responsible in the household. He's making me and his sister lunch right now."

"Yeah, but making lunch isn't going to pay the bills that daddy covers."

"If my memory serves me correct, I'm here because of a lack of responsibility too." I glance at the mountain of boxes in the corner of my room. At least half of them are marked _clothes_. "I'm very grateful Mr. Frost gave me this opportunity."

"I know. It's just... I miss you already, Tooth. I can't be a good judge of this Jack bloke until I meet him, so all I have to go by is information. I wish I could have come with you."

"I wish you were here too, Bunny." Which is true, just not for the fiasco that happened this morning. He would have flipped out and gotten us the first flight back. "But you've got to finish your degree. You know I'd kick you if you put your masters on hold to be my personal body guard for a year. Ecology isn't going to teach itself."

"Yeah, I know you would. And I'd let you, too." He laughs, and I match the sound with my memory of his smile. I grin into the phone just thinking of it. "But like I said, be careful. And not just around Jack, I mean everywhere. New York is a whole different world than back home."

"Honestly, it doesn't feel that different. It's like I can just walk around the corner and meet you at Sprinkles for ice cream right now," I say, standing and gazing out the window. It looks over the side parking lot that leads into a grassy area, then to the parking lot of a small independent diner. "It looks like home away from home, but not."

"But not. Yeah." He sounds sad, and I didn't realize that comparing this place with home would upset him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bunny, I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that–" A door slams loudly then. Emma stomps out of her room and down the hall determinedly.

"What was that?" Bunny asks.

"Jack's little sister, Emma. She just slammed her door and marched down the hall." I walk to my door and lean out, listening to her heavy little steps nearing the kitchen. "I think she's about to go rip Jack a new one. They were arguing earlier about something. She's really feisty, from what I've seen. She basically gave me the third degree when I got here." I rest against the door jam and listen to their faint, far away squabbling.

"That's interesting. So I guess she wears the pants?"

"Bunny!" I try not to laugh. "No, I think they both have a leg in. He – oh, she's coming back!"

I sprint back to my place at the window in case she saw me earlier and watch as she walks to her door, balancing a plate of food on one hand and a red drink in the other, opens it, then slams it again with no consequence at all.

"Uh oh, I think something's up."

"Man, first day there and that place already sounds like a mad house. I have to go anyway. I promised mom I'd meet her for breakfast. I got to get over there soon or she'll go ballistic."

I laugh. "Yeah, I know how she is. Tell her I said hi!"

"I will. Bye, Tooth. Love you. Miss you."

"Love you too, bye!"

I hang up and set the phone on the windowsill. I run my hand down Snowflake's back on my way out of the room. She's still curled up in a ball, sleeping. I guess she's gotten used to doors slamming in the Frost home.

I follow the smell of food down the hall. Whatever Jack made – he said banana pancakes, right? – smells absolutely fantastic. Before turning the corner, I notice another door. It's the only door in the small hall, the only other thing there a side table pressed against the end wall under an oval mirror. Curious, I walk towards it, but the grumbling from my stomach stops me. Maybe I'll explore the great mysteries of the unknown room after lunch.

I walk towards the kitchen and see him flipping another pancake onto an already filled plate. He turns to place it on the table and sees me.

"Hey, Toothiana! I was just about to come get you. Lunch is ready, as you can see." He spreads his arms out to the food on the table. There's the pancakes I smelled, along with bacon, scrambled eggs, bowls of fruit, and orange juice. "Emma won't be joining us, unfortunately. Even though I made this for her." He huffs.

"I saw her in the hall. She looked very... irritated."

Jack laughs. "Yeah, that might be the best word to describe my sister." He stands with his hands on his hips looking down at the food for a moment in what might be his thinking face, then reaches back to untie his apron. He tries to pull it over his head, but moves too fast and gets tangled in it.

"Not again!"

I try to hide my giggle as I walk around the table. "Here, let me help."

He drops his arms with an enormous sigh that makes the apron balloon out from his face. I untangle his arms from the straps and unveil his head. The apron pulls his brown hair up with static, making it even messier. He smiles. "Thanks! It's embarrassing how many times that happens."

"Of course. I like your apron by the way. It's funny."

He hangs it up on a hook near the fridge. "It's a silly thing, I know. My friend Zel gave it to me as a joke. You may have met her? She works downstairs as the receptionist." He comes back to my side and pulls out my chair for me.

"Oh yes! She was very nice. And thank you." I sit down and he takes the one across from me. He pushes the plate of pancakes towards me and I stare curiously at them. They're just regular pancakes with banana slices in them, but when I take a few, Jack holds out a small bowl of thick amber liquid in it.

"Here, put this on top. It's a family recipe. The Frost Family's Famous Caramel Sauce. Try it!"

He has that adorable exuberance that you can't say no to, so I take it and poor some on the pancakes. I cut off a piece, but hesitate before eating it.

I look at Jack and see his eyebrows raised eagerly. I'm sure it'll taste fine, but I want to tease him for a second. The fork ever so slowly approaches my mouth. His eyes never train away from the bit of pancake on the end, and he starts bouncing a little the closer it gets.

Finally, I eat it. The taste isn't just fine though, it's phenomenal! It's like a caramel mushroom cloud just exploded in my mouth!

"Oh my gosh, Jack! This is amazing! No wonder this is Emma's favorite, it's delicious!" I cut off another piece and eat it, not even waiting to tease him this time. "Mmmm!"

"You really like it?" he asks with a hopeful expression and I nod. "Yes! I knew you would." He grabs a couple pancakes for himself and pours the sauce over them, then reaches for the juice. He pours us both a glass.

"Thank you," I say. "So why didn't Emma want to eat with us? Was it because of the... argument you had earlier? Or something I did...?"

"Oh, no no no! It was nothing you did! I promise! No, it was something I did. Or something I didn't do. That's why we were fighting earlier."

"Do you mind if I ask what it was?"

He rubs his ear, which I now assume is what he does when he's nervous. "I'm not sure if I should tell you. I'm still trying to make up for my _first_-first impression." He looks up at me through his bangs apologetically.

"Oh, I understand..." I wonder what it could have been.

I munch on a piece of bacon as I look around the kitchen. It's just as warm as the living room, decorated in browns and golds and reds. Off to the right is a large fish tank where four big fish swim carelessly through the fake plants.

Jack notices my staring. "Like my fish?"

I nod. "Yes. I've never seen pet fish so huge before!"

"Yeah, but they're just big harmless babies. The brown one is Blinky, the grayish one is Pinky, the blue-gray one is Inky, and the orange stripe one is Clyde."

"After the ghosts in Pac Man, right?" He nods, a proud grin on his face. "How clever! I had a bird once named Speed Racer. Which was terribly ironic because he didn't fly very fast."

"I assume you like birds a lot."

I sit back in my chair, surprised. "Why, yes. How did you guess that?"

"Well, you said you had a bird, for one, but also that you're wearing feathered earrings, a bird hair clip, and have a feather tattooed on your foot."

I glance down. The tattoo was designed to look like a pencil drawing of a feather on the top of my foot.

"Oh yeah. I guess you caught me. I got that on my eighteenth birthday." I look back up at him, uninhibited curiosity in his eyes. "It's kind of a terrible place to have put a tattoo, even though it looks cool were it is. I always had to hide it from my mom and my work place. _Especially_ my mom; she'd go ballistic. It's too bad, though, since hiding it defeated the whole meaning of the tattoo."

"What's it mean?"

I stare down at my half eaten pancakes. "The tattoo guy told me feathers mean many things, like bravery or weightlessness or truth. A lot of people like them because of their tribal origins, but he said people who get feathers usually have their own meaning for that certain tattoo. So to me, mine meant a start in a new chapter of my life, being able to fly towards new horizons and being my own person." I look back up at him and blush. "It sounds kind of cheesy, I know."

"No, not at all. It sounds... liberating."

I give him a small smile at that. "I've never told anyone that before, not even my boyfriend. He just thought it was nice and didn't question it."

His eyes go wide. "Wow, it feels weird to know I'm one of the only two people in the whole world that knows that secret."

"No one ever asked before. So… now it's your turn."

"For what?"

"To tell me a secret. Something nobody else knows."

He shifts in his chair, looking at everything but me. "Uh, okay... Lemme think, um... Okay, well this is really embarrassing, but when I was little, Emma had just gotten a Bedazzler for her birthday and she would use it on everything, and I mean _everything_. It was nuts. And one day, I noticed she left it in my room, so I picked it up and started bedazzling myself. I covered my arms and legs and face. I was like a freaking disco ball of bedazzle."

I throw my head back and laugh. "No way! That's hilarious! No one ever found out?!"

"No!" he laughs. "I tore them all off before my mom came home. She did wonder why my skin was so red though."

"That's perfect!" I giggle.

"Okay, now it's your turn again."

I stop laughing immediately. "What, no! I already told you a secret."

"Let's make a game out of it! Whoever has the best secrets wins." He scoots forward on his arms eagerly, eyes bright with the sun through the kitchen window.

"I never agreed to this, but okay..." I think for a moment, but draw up a blank. "I can't think of anything all of a sudden."

"Then I win."

"No! Just hold on... Okay, I keep every valentine I've ever gotten since kindergarten in a heart shaped box back home."

His reply is quicker than mine. "A dolphin once hit me in the face with his tail."

"How did that happen?"

He squints his eyes and stares off into the distance. "Sea World is a dangerous place."

"Ha! Understandable. My favorite books as a kid were Junie B. Jones."

He smiles. "Mine were Captain Underpants."

"Is that your secret?"

"No, just a fact. My secret is that I used to pretend to _be_ Captain Underpants."

I snort, thinking of a baby Jack running around in underpants and a cape.

"For my eighth birthday, my parents threw me a SpongeBob party, but I never told them that I hated it. That was before I liked SpongeBob."

"That's a pretty good secret, but is it as good as your parents originally thinking you're going to be a girl?"

I gasp and hide my smile with my hands. "No! Really?!"

"Yes! I was to be Jacqueline Frost. I guess it was a good choice since they easily just changed it to Jackson." He leans in close then, eyes shifting back and forth as if looking for any sneaks hiding in the corners of the room, and smirks conspiratorially at me. "I have never told a living soul that. It is my deepest, darkest secret."

His joking nature makes it obvious that that isn't really his deepest, darkest secret, but I place my hand over my heart in promise anyway and the other in the air. "I swear, I will take your secret to the grave."

He narrows his eyes at me, the playful smirk still on his face. "Good. I didn't want to have to deal with you if you didn't. But in all seriousness, I really haven't told anyone before, especially not Emma. I'd never hear the end of it."

"Really? Then why did you tell me?" Him saying that honestly makes me wonder what really _is_ his deepest, darkest secret?

"Because! It's Secret Time! And I wouldn't have told you if I didn't think I could trust you! Just like you couldn't tell me your deepest secret if you didn't trust me."

"But I haven't told you."

"Ah," he says, tilting his head toward me. "But you're about to."

I wasn't sure what he was doing; playing mind tricks to spill secrets? The way he looked at me, fake blue eyes shining and silly smile brighter than the light fragments cast from the glass wind chime in the window, made me want to tell him everything. It's not like I had anything to hide, but I don't go around telling my life story to people I've just met either, even if I'd be living with them. It's been a long time since I've offered up anything about my life without being asked first, but it was like this boy just expected me to, and that made me want to. I really wanted him to know me. Which was weird.

"Well... I'm not sure if I have a deep secret... I've never thought about it. I don't think my life has been exciting enough to have a really big secret in it."

"Everyone's life is exciting. Life in itself is exciting. There's gotta be something."

I squirm in my chair a bit, hands clasped tightly on the table. "I suppose... This isn't really a secret, but I've never told anyone before, so maybe it is?" I look up at Jack uncertainly, only to find him leaning in even more, completely enraptured in my words. His stare is intense and I look down. I'm not blushing, am I? "I don't know, but... I've always wanted to go on a big adventure, you know? Like the ones you see in movies, just with less death and explosions, of course. I want the feel of doing something greater than my ordinary life. Being a part of something big..." I shrug and look back up at him. He has a soft expression on his face. Thoughtful, even. "I don't really even care what it is, just that it happens to me... Is that, like, super weird?"

He stares at me in silence a little longer, the air poised with pause. I really do wonder what his eyes look like under those fancy blue contacts.

"No, that's not weird at all. It's wonderful," he whispers. I'm not sure why he whispered, because it's just me, him, and the fish here, but it fit the scene. It helped the quiet excitement from sharing secrets continue.

He leans back in his chair and so do I, not realizing that I was leaning forward too until now. "In fact, I'd love to go on one too. Though, I think knowing you is the start of a pretty big adventure." He smiles at me and I don't stop myself from smiling back. There's something rewarding in having someone like Jack smile at you.

"I–"

I'm interrupted by Emma streaking into the room. She places her dirty dishes in the sink, then runs back to the door. "Jamie texted saying to come downstairs to hang out I'll be back later bye!"

She's out the door before Jack can even think of a coherent response. He rises from his seat and leans around the table to better see her retreating form through the doorway. "Don't—Uh, okay! Don't talk to strangers! Stay in the building area! Have fun! LOVE YOU!"

The front door slams so hard that the pans hanging on the wall rattle. Jack stares at the door and sighs, then drops his shoulders and begins clearing the table. I get up to help when he starts balancing stuff against his chin.

"Here, let me help. Your arms are already full."

"It's okay, I'm used to it," he says, but lets me gather up the remaining dishes and silverware. There were many more dishes on the table than a lunch for two usually calls for. If this is what the table looks like after an ordinary meal, I couldn't wait to see it at Thanksgiving. Jack must go full on fancy.

We deposit our dishes next to the sink and he plugs the drain, starting the water. I grab a towel, alerting him to my wanting to help with the wash as well, and he smiles gratefully at me.

"I wash you dry, kay?"

He dunks the dishes at the top of the high stack in the soapy water and scrubs, using enough elbow grease to punch a hole in the plate. I guess that caramel stuff really sticks.

A few minutes pass of the menial chore, no sounds but the rhythmic sloshing of water. So when we're almost done and he speaks, I'm surprised.

"Do you mind if I be frank?" he asks, still staring intently at the cup he's washing.

I place the fork I just dried on a towel with the others and look up at him. He still faces the cup, but his eyes flash between me and it, causing him to give me a weird side eye. He looks wary, and I suppose he's usually too nice to be frank.

"No, go ahead," I say, reaching my hand out for the cup that is now thoroughly clean. He gives it to me and braces his soapy hands on the sink edge. Now it's my turn to give side eye, because his intent stare on me is a little nerve wracking.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you're not how I expected. And I guess I'm not real sure what I expected, but you seem much more... serious... than I thought you'd be. Than my father described you. And that's not a bad thing, but I get the feeling you weren't always as serious."

"Wow... Well you are much more perceptive than _I_ expected." My fingers are cold from the water and I rub them together, staring down at them as a way not to have to look him in the eye. "Yeah. Being an assistant, I suppose I was a little perkier. Getting to arrange everything was fun sometimes, but I also think the job grounded me." I decide to look up at him again, but his steely gaze makes me want to back off and tell him everything at the same time. I sigh and lean my hip against the counter. Even though he's gotten me to spill so many secrets already today, I just couldn't tell him this one. Now that I think about it, this may be my deepest secret, and it isn't something I'd like to share with _anyone_. The real reason why some people my age think my limit on how to have fun is equal to a hard working middle aged American is because of Aster.

I met him two years ago half way through my first year as an assistant to Mr. Frost. He was charming and determined and adoring, and he was my first serious boyfriend. It didn't take long for me to fall for him. It wasn't until recently, when I visited an old friend of mine during the summer, did I realize that I changed since meeting him. Since then, I've noticed small things that I do and think differently. I hate to think that meeting him made me more austere. There's nothing wrong with being serious. But I'm also young, and there's only certain things you can do when you're young that you can't when you're older, and it's quite disconcerting and confusing when I find myself wanting to do them and not wanting to at the same time. I love Aster and the way he thinks and influences the people around him, but I also don't want to end up resenting him.

I could never tell Jack this, no matter how many secrets he got out of me.

"Earning everything in my life made me more responsible, but I think the inner teenage rebel in me finally caught up too late and that's why my earnings are mostly all gone now. I was too excited for my future in dentistry, so I bought every kind of book on it. And also I really like clothes." I laugh, looking up at him. "Real girly and irresponsible, but that's why I'm here. To regain what my irresponsibility lost."

He nods slightly, staring at something over my head. "Well, sometimes a little irresponsibility is good. Sometimes it's just fun in disguise." He flashes me a smile, then points at my head. "I like your clip."

My hand shoots up to touch the hummingbird pin I always have in my hair. "Oh. Thank you, it was my grandmother's. She had a hobby of being a hummingbird keeper."

"I didn't know that was even considered a hobby. How unique."

"Yeah," I say, fondly stroking the jeweled clip. "People in her town call her the crazy bird lady, like the stereotypical cat lady, because her country home is always crowded in a cloud of hummingbirds, but she doesn't care. She does what she loves, and she's my inspiration because of that."

"How lucky she is to be doing something that makes her happy. Not a lot of people can say the same for themselves." He turns back to the sink and unplugs the drain. "So do I have to share a story too, now?"

I smile. "No, that was just because I felt like sharing. You are surprisingly easy to talk to, Jack."

He grabs the stack of dried plates, smiling widely at them. "What a good thing to be. And the same goes for you, Toothiana."

He's right. I've never been described as "easy to talk to" before, and knowing that someone is at ease with me made a light feeling swell in my chest.

Once we've stacked everything away, he walks to a cabinet and pulls out a green bottle.

"Wanna' help me feed the fish?" He shakes it, the little flakes rattling around inside.

"Sure!"

He leads me over to the tank and lifts up the huge hatch on the top. "Just sprinkle a little in there. You've fed fish before, right?"

"I think once when I was little at my cousin's house, but I never had my own." I tap the bottle and the fish come rushing up before the flakes even reach the water.

"So they're all boys, right?" I ask, handing him back the bottle. "Since they're named after the boy ghosts."

"I'm not really sure. I just assumed they were and named them. For all I know, Clyde could be a Sue. Do fish even have genders? Finding Nemo never specified that for me."

"I think clownfish males become female if their mate dies. Imagine if _that_ was in the movie."

He shakes his head in mock shame. "Those parents would have some 'splainin to do."

Glancing up at him for a moment, I catch something out of the corner of my eye that I didn't notice before.

"Whoa, Jack, what's that? Is that a dishwasher?"

He looks at me, eyebrows raised in question, then to where I'm pointing.

"Oh, uh yeah... Yeah, that's a dishwasher." He rubs his ear again.

"If you have a dishwasher, why did we just wash all those dishes by hand?"

He clicks his tongue, sucking in a breath through his teeth. "Okay, you caught me. I washed them by hand because I figured you'd help me, and I'd get to talk to you more while washing." His hand drops to the back of his neck, hooking around it. "I liked talking to you. And also I like the bubbles."

I take a deep breath and laugh it out. "Well, I guess we can talk some more in the living room." I jab a thumb over my shoulder, directing to the doorway. "Watch a movie with me?"

He drops his hand and smiles, all tension leaving his body immediately. "Yeah! You go pick a movie from one of the cabinets. I'll be right there." He rattles the bottle, indicating that he has to put it away.

I walk into the living room onto the large plush green rug. On either side of the huge TV are glass door wooden cabinets filled with movies and video games. I head to the one on the left, inspecting for any familiar titles. Jack walks in then.

"Jack, there are so many movies here! How do I pick just one?!"

"There are a lot, I know. I just really like movies." He gives a little laugh.

I pick out three movies I like and hand them to him. "Here, pick your favorite."

"Oh man, but these are all so good! You have great choice in cinema, Ms. Hy Loo."

His use of my last name makes me laugh because it sounds just like his dad. I grab the remote off the arm of the love seat and turn on the TV. It's the same model my friend Nick Summers owns back in LA, so I know how to use it. I'm about to change it over to the setting for the DVD player when something interesting catches my eye.

Something _very_ interesting.

And_ disgusting_.

"Uuuh... Jack... What is that?! What–!"

The screen is situated on the On Demand channel, but that's not what concerns me. It's in the... um, _adult entertainment_ section, specifically highlighting a half-way watched movie called_ Busty Asian Beauties: Dawn of the Bronze._

Jack looks up from the movies. Mouth open in shock at the screen, he drops the movies and runs to snatch the remote from me. He quickly deletes it and changes to the DVD setting.

We both stand with our mouths gaping, mine in appall and his in embarrassment.

"Th-That was–!" he stutters. "That wasn't mine! I mean, I d-didn't order that! My friend—my friend Dean crashed here last night, a-and—I _told_ him not to do this! He has an unhealthy obsession. I-I–!" He sighs and scrunches his shoulders up to his burning red ears. "I'm sorry. I forgot to delete it. He was just... _excited_ that they make full length movies now and wanted to watch one. That's why Emma was freaking out at me earlier. She doesn't believe me that I didn't order it because she was asleep when he came in. But I think she was mostly mad at me because she didn't get to see him." He gave me a ghost of a smile. "I'm pretty sure she has a crush on him."

The initial shock has worn off now, but all I can do is nod. "Well, I bet he'd be quite the character to meet," I say, faintly smiling at the idea of little Emma crushing on a grown up. A grown up who orders porn on someone else's TV.

Jack's blush resides and he shows me the movie he picked, earning my smile and thumbs up because it's one of my favorite comedy movies. I like it not only because it has two of my favorite actors, but because it's insanely funny and has spies. Spies make everything awesomer.

I sit down as Jack puts the movie in. He flops onto the couch on his back, propping his head with a pillow and the arm rest to face the screen. I lift my feet up and lean into the corner of the love seat, trying to get comfortable.

We're twenty-something minutes into the movie when I ask him what I've been wondering since lunch. "So... Do you think you could teach me how to make those banana pancakes sometime?"

He angles his head around to look at me. "Yeah, sure! They're not that hard once you know how."

"Thanks," I say, smiling. "They kind of taste like these banana foster pancakes I once had at Denny's."

He shot up and twisted around at that. "What! Nuh-uh! The Frost Family's Famous Banana Pancakes and Caramel Sauce is a trademark recipe! No big corporate diner could ever replicate something anywhere near its deliciousness, no matter how long its name!"

I raise my hands in mock surrender. "Okay! I'm sorry I brought it up! Though really, I'd love for you to teach me."

"Hmmm, now I'm rethinking my offer." He squints his eyes and rubs his chin thoughtfully. "It _is_ a secret family recipe, and only members of the Frost family know it... but I suppose I could teach you it. I'd probably be known as the traitor of the family and shunned for eons to come if I was found out, but you've proven yourself trustworthy."

I shake my head, laughing. "Thank you for trusting me with such dangerous knowledge as the Frost Family's Famous Banana Pancakes and Caramel Sauce recipe, no matter how long the name."

He smiles his biggest silly smile, a smile like we were in on some sort of important secret much larger than a pancake recipe. I returned the smile full force.

Emma comes in then, accompanied by a boy of her same height and hair color. They're both smiling excitedly, and his shows off a missing tooth.

Emma runs around the couch. "Jack! Jack! Guess what we found!"

He's still looking up at me with a small smile in place, so she shakes his arm to get his attention. His eyes slowly slide to her. "What'd you find?"

The boy sidles up next to Emma. "We found an old tricycle! It was sitting by a dumpster down the st—ow! In the parking lot." He rubs his arm where Emma punched him, one eye squinted. He glances at me, then double takes, his mouth opening in a small circle.

"Oh! Hi! ... Are you the girl living here?" he asks me, but looks at Emma, eyes wide.

"Yeah, _Jamie_. That's her," Emma says, coming up next to me. She gestures between the two of us. "Toothiana, meet Jamie. Jamie, meet Toothiana." She faces me, one eyebrow raised. "You know, you're name's kind of a mouth full. Like my full name is Emmaline, but I only let my family and Mr. North call me that, really only 'cause Mr. North is crazy and my dad and grandpa think it's funny when I get mad." She mutters 'pricks' under her breath, but I'm the only one close enough to hear. "Anyway, can I just call you Tooth? I'm going to call you Tooth."

"That's okay, everyone calls me that anyway."

"I like your name, Tooth. It's pretty!" Jamie pipes. He clutches the bottom hem of his shirt and his face is all pink. I bite my lip, trying to hide my smile. He's so adorable. "And your hair too! My sister puts colors like that in her hair, but it's that Barbie color hair stuff and it looks funny, but yours is pretty! And your eyes are _super_ pretty, too!"

"See, Jamie! I told you they were cool!" She turns back to Jack. "Come see the tricycle, Jack! It's so awesome possum!"

She grabs his arm and wrenches him off the couch using all the power she has in her little body.

"Okay, okay! Quit pulling meeee!" he wines.

He pauses the movie, then turns to me. "You coming, Toothiana?"

"Uh, sure!"

We both walk down the hall to get our shoes. Before turning into his room, he faces back to me.

"Oh, by the way, you win."

I stop before my hall and take a few steps back towards him. "What?"

"The secret game, you won. You had the best secrets." He places one hand on the doorway, half way in the room, and smiles. "Thanks for sharing them with me."

I feel heat on my face and train my eyes down at his bare feet. "You're welcome. And thanks to you too." I look up through a yellow strand of hair at him and smile.

The moment is interrupted by Emma. She has impeccable timing. "HURRY THE BUTTS UP, YOU GUYS!"

Jack's smile drops and he dashes into his room. I laugh and follow suit.

When I emerge wearing my most comfortable pair of magenta flip flops that I dug out of my suitcase, Jack's waiting for me.

"You didn't have to wait for me. I know my way around pretty well by now," I say and wink.

He laughs. "I'm sure you do. I just thought I'd be nice and wait. Plus, I wouldn't put it past Emma to pull me all the way downstairs as soon as I got up front without waiting for you. I'm sure you've figured out that she's very persistent and... head strong."

"Oh definitely, but a little stubbornness isn't so bad." I nudge him and smile, turning the corner.

"Yeah, but with my sister, it's a whole _lot_ of stubbornness."

"Eh." I shrug. "Hey, what's in that room in the other hall? I didn't get a chance to look in there."

"Oh, just the room where I keep the bodies of all my victims." I widen my eyes at him, smiling in a I'm-sure-you're-joking-but-I-better-not-be-wrong way. He laughs at my expression and waves his hand around. "No, no, I'm just kidding, ha! It's where I keep all my snowboarding stuff and awards and my wood working stuff."

"Wood working? Like carving statues?"

"JEEZ, CAN YOU GUYS GO ANY FREAKIN SLOWER? WE'RE BURNING DAYLIGHT HERE, PEOPLE!"

"God, Emma, pipe down! I don't want the neighbors to complain about the noise again!" Jack shouts.

"You pipe down, turd!" She grabs his arm again and pulls him out the door, but lets him go as soon as he's through and races Jamie to the elevator.

Jamie glances back at me with his big brown eyes, then whispers loudly in Emma's ear. "You didn't tell me she was so pretty!"

Jack chuckles. "I think you have an admirer."

"Heh, yeah." I smirk, watching Emma beat Jamie to the button and making sure he knows it. "He's adorable."

"Just wait 'til you meet his sister. She is the absolute sweetest thing ever. Jamie's sister IS DEFINITELY NICER THAN MY DUMB SISTER," he yells, cupping his hands around his mouth to make sure Emma hears. She glares at him and sticks her tongue out.

When we reach them, the elevator arrives and we all gather inside. Jamie stands on my right pretending to listen to Emma's chatter while peeking up at me. I smile down at him and his cheeks flush.

Once we reach ground floor, they run down the hall toward reception. We follow at a normal pace, though I see now that Jack's itching to run along with them. He's just staying back for me. I pick up the pace to ease him a little.

We pass a room on the left that smells faintly of chlorine. I peer in, but the glass door is faceted and opaque.

"Is that a pool?" I ask Jack, pointing to the room that's behind us now.

"Oh, yeah! It's great. There's a slide and everything, and it has colored lights at night. It's only open 'til nine, but I know a way around that." He shrugs, a smug grin on his face.

We reach the front. The mid-afternoon light shines through the crystal vases, scattering rainbows all across the floor.

"Ah, this is my favorite time to be down here," Jack says happily, trying his best to step on every rainbow in our path.

The pretty brunette receptionist waves at us. Zel, I think Jack said her name was? "Hey guys! Having a good day?"

"As always, Puny!"

"Aw, Jack, you now I hate when you call me that!"

"Yeah, well I hate when you call me Robert, Miss Literature Major!"

She giggles. "Fair enough, Robert."

"Noooo," he grumbles, walking through the revolving door. He goes around for a second spin like I did earlier, which makes me smile. He grab me on the second time around and pulls me in. "Come on, the little Duchess is waiting. We know how Duchess isn't very patient!" He leans his head in my direction, looking up at me through those floppy bangs.

"Oh yes! We must tend to her majesty right away!" I laugh, playing along.

We find Jamie on the other side of the door riding around on the tricycle. It's just big enough for him, but Jack freaks out when he sees it and runs ahead. Emma's about to get on when Jack picks her up and sets her on the other side, taking her place on the seat. She stamps her foot and pouts. "Jackson Pine Frost, no fair!"

"Hahahaaa!" he chortles, squeaking away on the tiny metal toy. He rides past me, clicking his tongue and winking while making a finger gun.

"Hey pretty lady," he says, honking the rubber horn, "how do you like my wheels?"

I shake my head, trying not to burst into laughter, but it doesn't work and I double over when he tips the trike over a pot hole right into a patch of grass.

Jack Frost is almost an adult, and my job is to get him more focused on his future, but I'm not so sure how good I'm going to be at that. When I see him like this, silly and laughing and at home with himself, I can't help but want to encourage it. I've never met someone filled with so much happiness, and to try to pull that back felt like the worst of crimes.

I agree with what he said earlier. Knowing him may be the start of a very big, very interesting adventure.

* * *

**Jesus Christ, this is almost as long as all previous chapters combined. CRY. That's why it took 2 months. Don't judge.**

**So in a review, guess the movie quote, the movie Jack and Tooth watched (hint: Chris Pine~!), and where Dean is from (not too hard), and you'll get a preview of the next chapter! :D Sounds fair, right?**

**Nick Summers isn't part of the game because I have to credit him. He's SilverEyeShinobi's OC from her fic Summer of Frost. I just love Nick, and she was so nice to let me borrow him for a milli-sec.**

**I also didn't make this part of the guess, but the ice cream shop Sprinkles is from the novel ****This Is What Happy Looks Like****. I read it recently. It's a lovely book. c:**

**ALSO OMG YOU GUYS, you all read Project GUARDIAN right? The author and I share an online friendship based purely on our awesomeness and fabulous gorgeousness, so she PUT ME IN HER STORY. SQUEEEEEEEEE! Agent Sparks, here, reporting for duty! 8"DDDDD Like I started crying when I read that. Thanks, boo.**

**REC TIME!**

**Point of No Return**** by NewLightRiini: Space!Tooth and Alien!Jack get into mischief in the deepest of SPACE. This Jack is literally the most shittiest of little shit Jacks, but Tooth doesn't take shit from nobody!**

**(If you like Warm Bodies) ****The Tale of Two Hoodies**** by TheIronSea: Sweet Jesus, I freaking love R, and his and Jack's strange friendship is so cute. And also HOODIE BROS~!**

**(If you like Supernatural) ****Winchesters in Burgess**** by thescienceofabdustion: ASDFGESWHG OH GOB. Even if you don't like SPN, this story is freaking great.**

**Kay, that's it! Thanks for reading! Love you guys, bye! Playlist and apartment design on my profile.**

_**~Reviews are better than banana pancakes.~**_


End file.
